Things Change
by I Need A Life
Summary: 25-year-old Ron Weasley is living a muggle life and keeping a terrible secret
1. Default Chapter

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**Things Change**

He lay on his bed, eyes wide open, listening to the sound of the raindrops pounding the roof of his small, but comfortable, one story home in London. He found raindrops soothing. Raindrops, along with the over the counter sleeping pills he took every night help him sleep. He hadn't been able to sleep peacefully since *it* happened seven years ago. That's one of the many things he hasn't been able to do since *it* happened. Another thing he hasn't been able to do was smile. In fact, he didn't think he even _remembered_ how to smile. 

His boss at the video store, Frank Gallagher, keeps saying to him, "Ron, may I give you a suggestion? I like you a lot, your one of my best employees, but quite frankly, I'm tired of seeing you come in with those sad eyes and frown. If there's something bothering you, I think you should probably see a doctor about it. This is not healthy" 

A doctor. Right. Like he could afford to see a doctor. And even if he could, what would he tell him? No, no one, not even a doctor, could know. His family would hate him if he knew. The doctor might even alert the police and have him thrown in jail. No, it's best to keep *it* a secret. 

His family. He missed them terribly. He hadn't seen any of them in seven years. Only sent one owl to his mother. That was a few days after he left. He assured her that he was fine, and that he'll continue to be fine, and not to worry about him. Yeah, he ran away after he did the terrible thing. It was an accident, but no one could know anyway. They'd hate him. They wouldn't care that it was an accident. He couldn't bare the thought of his family hating him. So, he ran away late one night after everyone was asleep. He didn't leave a note or anything. Just left. 

It's been tough for a while, this being on his own. He was only 18. Took the Knight Bus to muggle London. Slept on the streets for a week until he was approached by an elderly couple telling him that he could stay with them until he finds a job and a home. Until he gets back on his feet. He still doesn't know why they asked a complete stranger to live with them, but he knew why he accepted. Getting back on his feet sounded quite good and he was tired of sleeping under tunnels and stealing food. He lucked out. They were a very sweet and caring couple and he liked them a lot. 

He didn't like the job situation either. Practically since he started Hogwarts, he had dreams of becoming an Auror. Those dreams had been shattered since *it* happened. He found all this out while looking for a job. Reading the applications and worrying about the "Education" section. What was he going to say? "Yeah, well, I graduated from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Is that good enough?" Right. No, that wouldn't work. He didn't know what to say. All the good jobs required some kind of education he didn't have. These people weren't wizards. They were muggles. Practically the whole muggle population didn't even know wizards exist. If he mentioned that, they'd probably lock him up in some kind of hospital for crazy people. He was about ready to give up, after being turned down for a job time and time again. The elderly couple he was living with had a son who had a friend who owned a video store. Pulling a few strings, he managed to score a job there. And being a wizard, videos were unknown to Ron. He was amazed. He began to understand why his father loved muggle inventions so much. Anyway, the job didn't pay much, but soon he was able to afford the small house he lives in now. But barely. This wasn't exactly the kind of job he thought he'd have at this time of his life, but at least it's not living on the streets. 

Ron sighed and closed his eyes while continuing to listen to the rain. He couldn't lie. Many times, he almost broke down and went back to his family. He missed them so much. But he knew he couldn't. They'd want to know what made him run away, what made him leave them like that. He couldn't tell them his terrible secret. 

He couldn't tell them that he accidently killed his father.. 

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Chater Two up soon 

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	2. Chapter Two

**Things Change**

**Chapter Two**

Ron always hated getting up in the morning, especially since those sleeping pills were very effective and they made him drowsy from the evening he took them to the next afternoon. So, Ron was still a bit out of it when the alarm woke him up at 7am the next morning. He groggily rolled over in his bed and turned the alarm off. '_God, that's an annoying noise_'. he thought as he got out of bed. 

He had to be at work in two hours and it took him nearly an hour just to walk there. He took a quick shower and then plopped down on the couch to watch 15 minutes of the news on the TV (another muggle invention he found wonderful) before heading off for work. He was scheduled to be in at 9am (the store opens at 10am) and work until 7pm, a 10 hour shift. That's actually two hours more than full time employees usually get to work. 

He walked to work quickly, not looking at anyone or anything he passed on the way. He tried to avoid as many people as he can. He was no longer the people person he used to be and he'd prefer not talking to anyone. He knew the people in his neighborhood knew he wanted to be alone. He also knew that they were probably talking behind his back as well, but he didn't care. 

Finally, 54 minutes later, he approached the front doors to the South Vale Video Centre. He saw Frank straightening up some videos on a shelf and knocked on the door to get his attention. Frank unlocked the dor and let Ron in. "Good morning, Ron" 

"'Morning, Frank" Ron said. 

"How are you feeling this morning?" Frank asked him as he continued straigtening videos. But before Ron could answer, he muttered "This should have been done last night. I'll have to speak with Sharon about this" 

Ron started to help him straighten up the videos. "I'm feeling the same as I always feel" 

"That good, huh?" Frank asked him. "You really got to do something about this, Ron. As you probably know, Simon is being transferred to another store in Liverpool, the one I just opened up, so once he leaves, an assistant manager spot will be open. Your my best employee, your hard-working and your dedicated. I would love to offer you the position. It would mean a nice raise and more responsibility. However, in order for you to receive the promotion, I'm going to need to see a change in your attitude. Your polite to the employees and, most importantly, your polite to the customers, but your also very moody. If I can see a change in you by the time Simon leaves, then the position is yours, if you want it. If not, I'll have to offer the position to Heather, who is also a very good and dedicated employee, she's just not as flexible with hours like you are and we need someone who can be here when we need him. Think about it, okay?" 

Ron nodded. "Okay". A raise sounded good. He desperately needs the money. But how could he all of a sudden change into a happy man? He didn't think there was any way. He'll try, but Frank may as well give the position to Heather because Ron didn't think he could change that quick. 

----- 

Ron got off of work at 7 o'clock and reached his neighborhood by 7:45. Not too bad. As he walked by Alma's Coffee Shop he decided to stop in. It had been a busy day and coffee sounded good right about now. He bought his coffee and drank it quickly wanting to get home as soon as possible. He had just closed the door behind him when he heard a surprised voice say "Ron?" 

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Chapter Three up soon 


	3. Chapter Three

**Things Change**

**Chapter Three**

Ron stopped dead in his tracks and slowly turned around, hoping the voice didn't belong to who he thought it did. But that voice was unmistakable. He knew that voice very well. He turned around and found himself face to face with Harry Potter. 

'_No, it can't be_', Ron thought. '_No one is supposed to find me. No one is supposed to know where I am_' Go figure he was able to remain anonymous for seven years and suddenly run into Harry in a muggle London coffee shop. Maybe he should have dyed his hair and changed his name. 

Harry must have noticed the expression on Ron's face because he nodded and started walking down the street backwards, saying, "Well, it was good seeing you", and began walking off. 

Ron watched him walk off, part of him wanting to continue on his way and the other part of him wanting to call him back over and give him a big hug. He missed his friends as much as he missed his family. Watching Harry walk away and the feeling he has in his heart made him call out "Harry! Wait!" He would talk to Harry for a bit and make him promise not to come back and definitely not tell anyone else where he is. 

Harry stopped walking. He looked back at Ron with a hesitant smile on his face. 

Ron stuffed his hands in his jeans pockets, looking down at the ground, before half looking at Harry. "Do you want to come over to my house and talk for a bit?" Ron knew he wasn't helping his anonymity any by inviting Harry to his house, but seeing Harry just now made him realize how much he really missed Harry...and Hermione Granger, his best friend and girlfriend. Well, former girlfriend as he seriously thought his running away and leaving everyone behind counted as breaking up. 

Harry nodded and said. "Yes, I'd like that Ron" 

It was a short walk from Alma's to Ron's. It took only three minutes to walk to Ron's house. It was a silent walk though. Neither Ron nor Harry spoke. Ron was nervous and he thought Harry might have been, too, but he doubted Harry was nervous for the same reason Ron was. 

When they reached Ron's house, he unlocked the door and ushered Harry inside. He saw Harry looking around. There's not much to see. You could basically see the whole house from the front door since there was only three rooms in the house. The living room/kitchen, the bedroom and bathroom. It was small, but Ron liked it. It was big enough for him and it was comfortable. 

The akward silence again followed. A few minutes later, Harry spoke. "How have you been?" 

"Fine" Ron said. "I'm working and making by alright" That was a lie. Ron wasn't making by fine at all. He was struggling. He doesn't make much money and with the house payments, the utilities and groceries, he was barely making it. In fact, his refrigerator was almost completely empty until Friday when he gets his paycheck, but he had enough food in there to last him until then. 

Harry nodded. "Good, I'm glad to hear that" he paused for a moment, then said. "Ron, why did you run off like that?" 

Ron sighed. He knew that question was coming. "I can't tell you why, Harry" 

"Why can't you tell me why?" Harry said. "After scaring all of us, especially your mum, like that, why can't you give us an explaination?" 

Ron's eyes began filling with tears. "All I can tell you, Harry, is that I did something bad, very bad. Something I hate myself for and something everyone else will hate me for. I don't want my family hating me, so it's best they don't know" 

"Ron, I don't think you could do anything that is bad enough for your family to hate you" Harry told him. 

"Yes, I can do something bad enough" Ron said very quietly. "And I did it. But it was an accident. I didn't mean for it to happen" 

"Then tell them that!" Harry said. "Tell them it was an accident. They'll understand" 

"No, they won't Harry" Ron said, louder this time. "You don't know what I did so you don't know how bad it was" 

"Okay, then tell me" Harry said. "I won't tell your family, I promise" 

"I'm not telling you either" Ron said flatly. 

"Why not?" Harry asked. 

"Because I don't want you to hate me either" 

"I won't hate you" Harry said. 

Ron decided to change the subject. Harry knew all he needed to know. "How are _you_ doing? What are you doing wandering around muggle London?" 

"It's my day off from work, so I decided to just look around" Harry said. "See if I could find anything interesting....and I did" he said while looking at Ron. 

Ron nodded. "Where do you work?" 

"You are looking at the new owner of Flourish and Blotts" Harry said. "The original owner was going to close up shop for good six years ago. I didn't want that since that meant all the Hogwarts students would have to find somewhere else to get their schoolbooks, so I offered to buy the shop from him" 

"Really?" Ron said, impressed. "That's great, Harry. Must be making a good money" 

"Yeah" Harry said softly. 

"How's my family? And Hermione?" Ron asked. He needed to know how they were doing. 

"They're fine" Harry said. "Hermione is now working at Hogwarts teaching Arithmancy, and your family is great, too. Since you left, both Bill and Charlie married, and Bill's got a new baby, a son, Austin. And Ginny's getting married sometime next year. They haven't set a date yet. They all miss you terribly" 

Ron's eyes got round. His baby sister was getting married? And he has a nephew? It's times like this he just wants to go right home. Unfortunately, that's impossible. 

Ron cleared his throat. "Want something to drink, Harry? I'm getting a bit thirsty. I've got some sodas in the fridge" 

"Yeah, they'd be great" Harry told him. "I'm getting a bit thirsty myself" 

Ron got up and opened the refrigerator door, hoping Harry couldn't see inside and notice his lack of food. No such luck. 

"Ron?" Harry said, coming up behind him. "Is that the only food you got?" He asked pointing to the leftover meatloaf that was sitting next to five cans of soda, the only contents in his fridge. 

"Yeah" Ron said, trying to sound convincing. "I just haven't had the time to go to the grocery store. I've been working overtime" That part was true. He had been working overtime. Not that he minded. More much needed money. 

"Where do you work?" Harry asked 

Ron shifted his gaze away from Harry's eyes. "Umm...South Vale Video Centre...it's a small video store. I've been working there for almost six years" 

Harry's eyes widened. "A video store?...well, are you sure your making enough money to be living on your own?" 

"Yes, Harry" Ron said, a bit impatiently. "I'm fine. I've already survived seven years on my own. I'll be fine" 

"I better be going" Harry said, walking towards the door. "It was great seeing you" 

"It was good seeing you, too" Ron said, and embraced him in a friendly hug. "Can you do me a favor, though?" Ron asked, pulling away from Harry 

"Sure" Harry said, but before Ron could tell him his favor, Harry reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet and began counting out muggle money. He then held out the money to Ron. "Take it" 

But Ron didn't take the money. "Harry, I can't...I....I can't take your money. Where did you get muggle money anyway?" 

Harry shrugged. "I know someone who can trade some of my wizard money for muggle money, which is good, since I like to run to muggle London to buy some things sometimes" he continued holding the money out to Ron. "Take it" he said again. 

"No" Ron said. "I can't take your money. I won't be able to pay you back" Money has always been an issue with Ron. 

"I don't want to be paid back" Harry said. "I just want to help take care of the people I care about, so please take the money. My arm is starting to get numb" 

Ron had to chuckle, but he took the money. "I'll take this money on one condition. The favor I needed to ask you. I'll take this if you promise me you won't tell anyone else where I am" 

Harry sighed. "Can I change that offer a bit?" 

"What do you have in mind?" Ron asked. 

"I won't tell your family where you live, or where you work as long as you take this money _and_ you write your mother a note, letting her know your okay. You have no idea how worried she is, Ron. And since your writing it, you don't have to tell her anything you don't want her to know. I'll give her the note for you" 

Ron thought for a moment. Then he nodded. "Okay Harry". He pocketed the money and walked over to his desk, sat in the chair, pulled out a piece of paper and a pen and quickly wrote a short, but sweet note to his mother, and handed it to Harry. 

"Thanks, Ron" Harry said. "It was great seeing you" 

Ron watched Harry leave his house. He closed the door behind him, feeling just a little better than he had before. 

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Chater Four up soon 


	4. Chapter Four

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**Things Change**

**Chapter Four**

It had been a week since Harry's visit and he hadn't seen him since, which was how Ron preferred it. It was great to see Harry again, but Ron still wanted to remain anonymous, he continued to want to be shut out from his family. Harry was wrong. His family wouldn't understand. Not what he did. Seven years, Ron suffered through the nightmares of that evening, the pain he suffered when he realized that it was his father he killed. The pain of that evening hurt him so much, that several times he had a large knife up to his wrists, slicing through the skin deeply. Slicing his skin made him feel better. It didn't hurt. It felt good. So he continued to do it. Sometimes when he cut himself, he would lay on his bed, planning to bleed to death. It would serve him right for doing that terrible thing. But part of him didn't want to die, so he would always get up right after he lay down, and run his cut under cold water, washing the blood away and bandaging his wrists up. He had to wear long sleeve shirts that covered his wrists so his family and friends wouldn't know what he was doing, and since that was summer time, it was hell wearing those shirts. He continued cutting himself until the day he ran away, two weeks after his father's death. He hadn't cut himself in nearly seven years, but he still had the scars on his wrists, which was a reminder of that dreadful evening. 

Ron sighed. He was sitting in the office counting the money that lay in his till. It was the start of another work morning. He usually liked to work, even though he didn't like his job that much. Working, no matter what kind of work it is, gets his mind off of things. But today...he just didn't want to do anything. He woke up this morning, after having a nightmare, in a sweat and crying. All he wanted to do was stay home and mope. But, he had to work. He only had one day off this week, and that wasn't until Friday. He was also trying to "change his attitude" as Frank had said because he did want the promotion, but he didn't think it was working. 

Ron had finished counting the money and got up from the desk, till in hand, and made his way out of the office and into the store. As he headed up towards his register, he noticed Frank talking to a girl Ron had never seen before. Ron thought she was pretty cute. Not beautiful, but cute. She had shoulder-length straight brown hair, nice, small glasses that covered her brown eyes and she was a bit on the chubby side. Ron noticed that she wore the store uniform, which are khaki pants and a navy blue polo shirt with the initials "SVVC" (South Vale Video Centre) embroidered on the upper right. 

Ron silently opened his register and placed the till inside. "Ron!" He heard Frank say cheerfully. "Come here and meet our new employee" 

Ron walked over to where Frank was standing with this new girl. Frank smiled at both of them and began the introductions. "Ron, this is Christy Richards. Christy, this is Ron Weasley, one of my best employees" 

Christy smiled at him "Hi Ron!" she said holding out her hand. 

Ron took her hand and shook it. "Hi Christy, welcome" 

"Ron?" Frank asked. "Could you please train her? I've got a few things to do in the office. Go ahead and show her around the store before we open up. Then once we're open you can help her with the register" 

Ron nodded. "Sure" he said. 

Frank disappeared into the office. Ron looked at Christy, who was looking back at him, smiling, seemingly waiting for him to begin the tour of the store. He was a bit nervous as he's never trained anyone before. So, he just did what Frank told him to do. He showed her around the store, explaining a few things. He was just showing her how to straighten up the videos, which Ron always thought was weird, but Frank liked them straightened a ceratin way. He was reaching up, straigtening up some videos, which were a bit messy, explaining it to her when she asked "Ron? What happened to your wrists?" She sounded a bit concerned. 

Ron flinched at her question. These damn polo shirts he had to wear to work had short sleeves, so he couldn't hide the scars. But he also didn't want to explain his problems to a complete stranger. He just met this girl and while she seems nice enough, he didn't know her well enough to trust her yet. Plus, why would she care about his problems? 

"Oh, umm" Ron said. "An accident I had a while back. Never got rid of the scars" 

Christy nodded. "I'm studying psychology at college. I've been studying mental behaviors. Those look suspiciously like knife wounds" 

"Yeah, it was a knife that did it" Ron said. 

"And you seem a bit.....sad" Christy told him. "Did you do that to yourself?" 

Ron closed his eyes for a bit, then re-opened them and continued explaining things to Christy, ignoring her questions. Ron thought that it was really none of her business and he didn't think he needed to explain anything to her. 

Ron looked at his watch and noticed it was 10am. "Time to open up" He told Christy and walked to the front doors to unlock them. She followed behind and touched him on the shoulder. He flinched again at her touch. "I'm sorry" she said. "I didn't mean to upset you" 

Ron just nodded. "It's okay" he said, moving away from the door as a customer walked in. 

"No, it's not" Christy went on. "I shouldn't have bothered you like that. It's just that I see those kinds of wounds and I get worried. When I finish college, I want to help people with their problems, especially if they have suicidal tendencies, and when I saw your wounds...." she trailed off. "Anyway, I'm sorry if I brought up a touchy subject" 

"I said it was okay" Ron told her. 

The customer obviously found what she was looking for awful quickly because she was waiting to be waited on in front of Ron's till. 

The subject was dropped as Ron waited on the customer, showing Christy what to do. 

For the rest of the day, no other mention of Ron's scars were said, and Ron was happy about that. He just wanted to forget about them. 

* * *

Chapter Five up soon 

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	5. Chapter Five

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**Things Change**

**Chapter Five**

Christy Richards had quickly proven to be a good friend to Ron. A friend was the last thing he wanted, though. For seven years, all he wanted to do was be left alone and not be bothered and in return, he would not bother anyone else. However, Christy took it upon herself to make sure Ron changed his mind about that. She proved that to Ron when she showed up on his doorstep on Friday, his one and only day off of work that week. 

"Hi Ron!" She said brightly when Ron answered the door. 

"Hi" he said, a confused look on his face. "How did you know where I live?" 

She smiled sheepishly. "Frank told me...I hope you don't mind" 

"No, I don't mind" Ron said, even though he did mind a bit. "Come on in" He opened the door wider to let her in. 

She stepped inside, took off her jacket and looked around for a place to put it. Ron took it from her and said "I'll take that for you". He walked into his bedroom and hung it in the closet, the only closet in his small house. 

When he returned, he found her sitting on the sofa, smiling broadly. "Would you like some tea?" he asked her. "I just finished up a pot when you stopped by" Due to Harry's money, he managed to buy some food and put the rest in the bank for bills. 

"Yes, please" She said. 

He walked into the kitchen and returned a few minutes later with two cups of tea on a tray, which he sat on the coffee table. He handed her one. "There you go" 

"Thank you" She said. "So, how have you been doing?" 

He shrugged, hoping she wasn't going to go into his scars again. "I'm fine" 

"Well, I just came by so we could have time to get to know each other better" she said. "We don't have much time to talk at work" 

"There's not much to tell about me" he said. "I work all the time, which is how I prefer it and I have no family and no friends, which is how I prefer it" 

"Oh?" she said, her eyebrow raised. "Why don't you want any friends?" 

"Because I don't want to care about anyone anymore" he told her. "You love someone, you care about someone, then something happens and everything changes. It's too painful" 

She nodded her head slightly. "So in order to prevent pain, which could happen, you'd just not want to love at all?" 

Ron put his tea cup down. "Is this one of your psychological mumbo jumbo? Because I don't need someone to tell me how I should feel and what I should do. I just don't believe anyone knows better about how I should feel than myself" 

"No, Ron" she said. "It's not another one of my psychological 'mumbo jumbos'. It's just me, someone who wants to get to know you and be your friend. But of course, you already made it clear that you aren't accepting friends at the moment" 

'Damn it, not now', Ron thought as he felt a tear fall from his left eye. 

Whether she noticed the tear or not, Ron didn't know, but she did say "And I think you could use a friend right now" 

He hesitated. "Look...I....I had a family, whom I loved, and still do....and I had friends, great friends, the best friends, but something happened and things changed. The thing that happened was bad. Very bad, and I was the one who caused it. Before letting my family know what I did, which was an accident, by the way, I decided to just leave. Leave before they all find out and hate me. I can't handle the thought of my family hating me" 

"So you never told your family?" Christy asked him. 

"Never did" he answered. "They'd hate me if they found out" 

"What did you do that was so bad?" Christy asked. 

Ron hesitated again. Should he tell her? No, of course not. He barely knew her. Besides, if she found out that he was a murderer, she'd hate him too. But did that matter? They weren't friends anyway, even though she wanted to be. 

"I think you'll feel better if you get it off your chest" she said. "You can't keep these things bottled up inside. It's not healthy" 

He sighed and turned to face her. "Fine, I'll tell you, but it's not to be told to anyone else. Understand?" 

Christy nodded. "Understand" 

"Shortly after I got back home from school, when I was 18, my family, all except me, went on a vacation to Egypt to visit my oldest brother, Bill. I don't remember why I didn't go with them. Bill and I had always been pretty close" Ron said. "But anyway, I was home alone, and I'll admit it, I was frightened to be by myself" 

He chuckled for a bit and said "That's weird because I remember begging and pleading for my mum to let me stay by myself. I was 18, but she still wanted someone to stay with me. Finally, my dad was able to convince her that I would be okay by myself..." he trailed off. "But I wasn't okay by myself" 

He couldn't look at Christy as he finished his story. He was also trying to think of a way to explain the rest without letting it be known that he was a wizard. "I was fine at first, but then I got a warning that someone....evil...was at wandering around town. He could be anywhere. Of course, being by myself, I got frightened. Okay, frightened is not the word, I was scared out of my mind. I stayed up in my room all the time. I kept all the lights off in the house, even though I wasn't sure if that was a good idea or not....A few days after my family left, and the day after I got the warning, I heard someone downstairs in my house. I asked who it was, but got no answer. Of course, whoever it was probably didn't hear me since I didn't ask very loudly. I grabbed some protection, crept downstairs and saw a figure walking slowly through my house. I panicked and......killed the person walking in my house. I then walked the rest of the way down the stairs and turned on the light...and...." 

Tears were coming down freely now, and he wasn't trying to hide them. "it was my father I killed" He heard Christy gasp. He continued. "I...I didn't know what to do. I just ran up to my room and stayed there. I knew I should tell someone. But I was afraid. What would happen to me once told them it was me who killed him? Would I be thrown in jail? If not, I knew my family would definitely hate me. I couldn't blame them if they did. I hated myself. Hated myself for panicking. Hated myself for not making sure who it was first. Hated myself for acting so irrationally. I wanted to die. So I began cutting myself" he said, pointing to his scars. "I figured death suited me after what I just did. The next day, I still hadn't told anyone. But I got an ow...umm...a letter from my mother asking if I seen my dad. She said he was going to check up on me...that was when I decided to run away" 

He didn't say anything else. After a few moments, Christy, who also had tears in her eyes, said "He must not have spent much time in Egypt, if he was back in England in only two days" 

Ron gave a small gulp. His father had apparated, he was sure of that, or possibly Floo-ed, so it hadn't really taken very long. But of course, he couldn't tell her that. He hoped she wouldn't ask what kind of "protection" he had. He had his wand, but again, he couldn't tell her that. In fact, he didn't want to tell her anymore. "That's all I want to say about it" 

She nodded. Then said. "Ron? I don't think your family will hate you" 

Ron shook his head. 

But Christy wasn't finished. "Explain to them that it was an accident, that this....evil person, you said, was at large. You were scared and you heard someone downstairs. They'll understand" 

Ron stood up. "I want to be alone" 

Christy stood up, too, and said. "Okay. Remember, I am here for you if you need me" 

He flinched as she gave him a hug. "See you at work tomorrow" she said as she pulled away. 

Ron retrieved her jacket from his bedroom and walked her to the door. They said their goodbyes and Ron shut the door behind her. He leaned against it for a while. He told her what happened, and still wanted to be friends? But he realized that she was right. He _was_ feeling a bit better. 

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Chapter Six up soon 

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	6. Chapter Six

Things Change 

**Author's Note**...My chapters _MAY_ be shorter from now on. I know my chapters aren't very long to begin with, but if you've read my author's note, you now that I am working full time now _and_ in college, so time is short for me. If you read my stories, I hope you don't mind the length of the chapters from now on 

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**Things Change**

**Chapter Six**

Ever since Christy had shown up at his house and he spilled everything to her, he really began to feel better. Not good enough to go and run back to his mother, like he longs to do, but good enough not to think he has to hide from the world. What he didn't understand was how she still wanted to be his friend after telling her everything. He murdered his father. How could she even want to be anywhere near him? But she did. She was still friendly to him at work, smiling and chatting away like she always does, she even called him occassionally. Christy was sure determined to be his friend whether he liked it or not. He wasn't quite sure what to think of that. 

But he soon forgot about it after his shift one evening while he was sitting in the office counting the money in his till. Frank had come in and sat down in the leather armchair in the corner of the office, waiting for Ron to finish counting his till and filling out the end of shift paperwork. After Ron carefully locked the till in the safe, Frank turned to him with a smile on his face. 

"Ron" he said. "I've seen great improvement the past two weeks and I must say I'm happy for you. You seem to be getting back on your feet. Any reason for the sudden change?" 

Ron didn't think there was much of a change in him. Yeah, he felt slighty better after talking to Christy, but he didn't see any big improvement. Obviously Frank did, though. Ron shrugged, not wanting to get into anything. "No, no reason" 

Frank nodded and said, "Well, Simon's last day is tomorrow and I'd like to offer you the assistant manager position. Are you interested?" 

Ron widened his eyes slightly. "Umm, well, I....umm, yeah, sure" Ron really wasn't sure how much he wanted the position, but he knew it meant a raise and he desperately needed more money. 

"Great!" Frank said brightly and stood up. "Starting Monday, you will be our new assistant manager. I'll have your new nametag and a set of keys for you when you come in Monday morning" 

"A set of keys?" Ron repeated. 

"Sure" Frank said. "You'll be in charge with opening and closing the store from time to time now. You'll need keys to lock and unlock the doors" He shook Ron's hand and left the office walking back into the store . 

Ron let out a sigh and walked out into the store after Frank. It was nearly 8 at night and he was dead tired. He had been here since 9 that morning. He had no sooner left the office when someone jumped on him, giving him a big hug. Christy. He pulled back, flinching, not wanting her to touch him. She didn't seem to notice his hesitance. She was all smiles. "Ron! Frank just told me. Your the new assistant manager!" _'She's too damn bubbly'_, Ron thought. 

"Yeah, I guess I am" Ron said, unenthusiastic. 

She did, however, notice his lack of enthusiasm. "Aren't you exicted?" 

He shrugged. "I suppose so. I need the money" 

"Well, I think it's great" She said. "I'm happy for you" 

"Thanks" Ron said. 

Christy stared at him for a few moments, looking like she was contemplating something. "Your off tomorrow, aren't you?" 

Ron nodded. He was off tomorrow, Saturday, and then again Sunday. He didn't like that. He liked working. He'd work seven days a week if he could. 

"I'm off tomorrow, too" Christy said. "I was thinking maybe we could go out and do something tomorrow evening" 

Go out? With Christy? But Ron never went out, unless it was to work. He didn't like going out. Christy knew that. But then, of course, that was probably why she asked him to go out. She's mentioned time and time again that she thought getting out would do him good. 

Ron shook his head. "No, Christy. I'm sorry, but no. I can't go out" 

"Ok, well, why _can't_ you go out?" Christy asked him. 

"I don't like going places" Ron told her. 

"Why?" She asked softly. "I do understand that you feel guilty about what happened, but you can't let that guilt control your life. I promise you will feel much better if you get out and do something. Don't wallow in self pity. That's not going to get you anything, other than more heartache. You are a good person and you deserve much more than what you are setting up for you" 

Ron just stared at her. "Fine, Christy" he said. "You win. Tomorrow night it is" 

She let out a delighted gasp. "Really? Oh wonderful! You want to come pick me up? Or I can pick you up? Or we can meet somewhere?" 

"I'll pick you up" Ron said. 

Christy smiled and scribbled her address on a scap piece of paper. "Tomorrow at 5?" 

Ron nodded. "At 5, it is" He bade her goodbye and headed home, wondering what he got himself into. 

* * *

Chapter Seven up soon 

* * *


	7. Chapter Seven

Things Change 

**Things Change**

**Disclaimer...I don't own anything HP. I actually had the day off from both school and work yesterday (yay!), so I was able to write another chapter of this fic and my newest HP fic.**

**Chapter Seven**

Ron closed his eyes, listening to the sound of the soft music playing on the radio in his bedroom. He still couldn't believe he told Christy that he would go out with her. It's not that he didn't like Christy. He did. She was sweet. A little overbearing at times and she liked to pry into his business more than he wanted her too, but she meant well. First, he had let Harry into his home and now agreeing to go out. What was happening to him? He glanced at the clock on his night stand. It was 4 o'clock. About time to get ready for his.....date? _'Nah'_, he thought. _'It wasn't a date. Just spending time with a friend'_. He used to do this all the time with Hermione Granger when he was younger. But the fact that he and Hermione began dating shortly after didn't ease his mind any. 

Ron sighed and switched the radio off. He showered and got dressed and looked at his watch. 4:30. He had to hurry if he was going to pick her up by 5. As he walked slowly to her house, he realized that he wasn't looking forward to this. He didn't enjoy going out anymore. He used to love it as a kid, but these days...he preferred being alone. He thought he felt someone watching him as he walked past an outdoor diner, but he didn't turn to look until he heard a voice call "Ron!" 

_'Damn'_, Ron thought. He could tell it was Harry before turning around. Sure enough Harry was walking towards him, though not smiling like he was the last time they saw each other. "Hi Harry" Ron said quietly. 

"Hey" Harry said. "I was about ready to head to your house. You busy? We need to talk" 

"Well, yeah" Ron said, looking at his watch. "I need to pick someone up in eight minutes" 

Harry nodded. "Can I stop by your house later on tonight then? I have something really important that I need to tell you" 

"I don't know" Ron said slowly. 

Harry looked him straight in the eye. "Ron, I know you don't want anyone around, especially not me or your family, and I promised you I wouldn't, but you need to know this. Otherwise, I wouldn't be here" 

"Okay" Ron said, looking once again at his watch. "Stop by at eight tonight. I'll be home by then" He wasn't sure what he and Christy were going to do tonight, but he'd make sure he'd be home by eight. 

"Great" Harry said with a solemn expression on his face. "See you then" Ron watched him sit back down at the table he was eating at before heading off again towards Christy's house. He knew he'd be a few minutes late, but he didn't think she'd care that much. 

He reached her house five minutes late. As he rang the bell, he took a good look at her house. It was a bit bigger than his, but not by much. It was kept in a nicer state than his was though. His house had shingles falling off, the paint was peeling and basically run down. Christy's house was very nicely kept. He stopped staring at her house when the door opened. 

"Hi Ron!" Christy had said brightly. "Would you like to come in for a bit?" 

"Sure" Ron said, stepping into her house. "Sorry I'm late" he apologized. "I ran into an old friend on the way here" 

"It's no problem" Christy said and motioned over to the sofa. "Make yourself comfortable. Would you like something to drink? Tea maybe?" 

"If your going to have some, I wouldn't mind" Ron told her. "Thanks" 

While she was getting the tea, he glanced around her living room. She had owned stuff he didn't think he'd ever have enough money for. Oriental rugs, glass vases, and expensive paintings lined her walls. She returned and saw him checking out her paintings. She smiled. "I didn't buy those. I couldn't afford them. My parents bought almost everything in this house a long time ago. They let me take some things when I moved out" 

"They are nice" Ron told her. "Umm, listen. Where are we going tonight? I have to be home by eight. I'm going to have company" 

"Oh" Christy said, rather surprised. "Well, it's almost 5:30. We could get something to eat. Have you eaten dinner yet?" 

Ron shook his head. "No" 

"Hey!" Christy suddenly said. "How would you just like to stay here? I could make us something to eat and just hang out and talk. I _still_ don't know that much about you, and I don't believe I told you much about me either" 

"That sounds good" Ron said, and he meant it. He wasn't fond of the idea of going out to a public place anyway. 

It turned out that Christy was a damn good cook. Ron hadn't had a meal this good in ages. Not quite as good as his mother's cooking, but good nonetheless, and when he was finished eating, he didn't think he could eat another bite of food in a week. She had even poured some wine for the both of them. He didn't want to admit it, but he was enjoying himself and he was enjoying her company. 

"Let's talk now" Christy suggested. "Tell me more about yourself" 

"What do you want to know?" Ron asked her. She already knew his name, where he lived, his telephone number and what he had done to his father, which no one else knew. What else did she want to know? 

"Stuff...you know, where you are from, your family, friends.." Christy sighed. "Okay then, how about if I start first? I was born in Manchester, my parents are Hank and Lynn, I have an older sister Allison and youger brother Adam...." She trailed off, noticing the expression on his face. "Okay, we don't have to talk about this. Does talking about your family bring back too many bad memories?" 

He didn't answer her question. He just said. "For the first eighteen years of my life, I lived with my parents, Molly and Arthur. I have five older brothers and a younger sister. Bill's the oldest. I was just told not too long ago that he now has a son. Austin. I wish I could see him. Then Charlie. Then Percy...then Fred and George, my twin brothers. I don't know what they are all up to now. My baby sister is Ginny. She's only a year younger than I am. I was told that she was getting married." He could feel tears welling up in his eyes. He's missing so much with his family, stuff he always wanted to be a part of, like Ginny's wedding. He couldn't be a part of these things now because he ruined their lives. Unintentionally, but he ruined them anyway. 

He continued. "I loved my life. I had great friends, Harry and Hermione, a family I loved and who loved me. We didn't have much money, and sometimes that bothered me, but I was also happy with what I did have for the most part" He sighed and shook his head. "Sometimes I wish I could go back in time and start everything over" 

Christy nodded. "I know. I think we all wish we could go back in time and start certain things over" 

Ron looked at his watch. It was 7:30. Time sure flew. He had to leave now if he was going to get home by eight to meet Harry. "I better go" He said, getting up and walking towards the door. Christy followed him. 

"I'm glad you stopped by" she said. 

Ron smiled. The first smile he could remember doing in almost seven years. "Me too" He stared at Christy for a moment. He did like her. She was cute and sweet...and she cared about him. What he did next was completely unexpected by both Ron and Christy. He had no idea where it came from.... 

He kissed her... 

A short, but sweet kiss. He pulled away and looked at Christy, trying to read her expression. Was she angry that he kissed her? Or did she enjoy it? He couldn't tell. He was about to apologize when she smiled and said. "Want me to drop you off at home?" 

Ron shook his head. "No, I'm fine walking...see you at work Monday" 

As he turned to leave, he heard her call after him. "How about tomorrow?" 

He looked back at her and said. "Tomorrow it is" and then took off down the street towards home. 

----- 

When Ron reached his house, he saw Harry sitting on his front stoop. Ron looked at his watch. 7:59. "Have you been waiting long?" Ron asked him. 

Harry shook his head. "Not long...only a few minutes" 

Ron unlocked the front door and let them in. Before Ron could say anything, Harry spoke up. "I need to tell you something important. Something you ought to know" 

Ron looked at him. He couldn't help but get a bit nervous by the expression on Harry's face. He was upset about something. 

"Ron, I think you should go home....just to visit at least...because" Harry stopped and took a deep breath. "because your mum is very sick...she's dying, Ron" 

At Harry's words, Ron felt all the breathe out of him leave completely. His mum is dying? When did all this happen? Harry didn't say anything when he came to visit several months earlier. Ron was about to ask when Harry said, like he could read his mind. "She just started getting sick a few weeks ago, but it was just the other day, I found out that she was dying. That's why I didn't tell you earlier" 

Harry went on, heading towards the door. "I think you should make amends. She really wants to see you. If you don't want to tell her what happened before, I guess you don't have to. But be there for her. She needs her family now. And she misses you terribly. She really wants to see you before she dies" 

Harry gave Ron a pat on the back before heading out the front door and disappearing into the darkness. Ron closed the door behind him. For the second time that night, tears threatened to fall. He replayed Harry's last words in his mind. _'She needs her family now. And she misses you terribly. She really wants to see you before she dies'_. 

That was all he needed to hear. Grabbing his jacket and house keys, he left for the Burrow, not knowing how long it would take him to get there by foot, but not caring, just wanting to get there as quick as he can. He knew he had been a terrible son the past several years. Harry was right. He needed to make amends. But Ron hoped it wasn't too late to do so. 

* * *

Chapter Eight Up Soon 

* * *


	8. Chapter Eight

**Things Change**

**Disclaimer.....I don't own HP, blah, blah, blah...Ron's not mine, life's not fair, I know**

**Chapter Eight**

  
Ron had been walking for hours. He was pretty certain he was heading in the right direction. He was hoping to have caught up with Harry before he got too far, but Harry was nowhere to be found when Ron left his house. Ron figured he must have found some place safe to apparate from. Ron had learned to apparate as well, but had only apparated once before the incident happened. It was now well after midnight and he was beginning to wonder if he knew where he was going. If it was any other circumstance, he would have just said forget it and walk back home. But he couldn't. Not with his mother so ill. He needed to see her again, and he was kicking himself for making her wait so long. Why did it take until the time his mother was dying for him to come to his senses? 

He didn't know what he was going to say when he arrived, though. He definitely wasn't going to tell them what really happened. He knew he should probably start thinking of what to say so he'd have something to tell them when he arrived. But, right now, his mind was on how to get there. For a split second, he considered trying to apparate, even though he hadn't done it in seven years and he had only done it once. He knew trying to apparate now would be dangerous. But what did he have to lose? His life? He could deal with the possibility of death. He didn't think his life was worth living anyway. Not anymore. He was depressed, lonely and miserable, far from the happy-go-lucky young man he was before. The young man, who although had issues with money and sef-esteem, loved life anyway, had great friends and plans to be an Auror. '_How quickly things can change_', he thought. 

Ron stopped walking for a moment and looked around. He didn't recognize this area. But he was fairly certain he was headed in the right direction. Hell, when he ran away, he was on foot. He got here on foot from the Burrow, he can make it back to the Burrow on foot. He sighed and continued walking, only stopping as he passed a 24-hour convience store to buy a bottle of soda since the walk was taking a lot out of him. He walked for another hour before recognizing something. A house. A huge house that he noticed after running away, only a house like that could make him stop and stare, even if he was running away from a nightmare come true. He remembered the three story house with a wrap around balcony, and he definitely remembered the mailbox, which he thought didn't belong with the gorgeous house. It was in the design of a pink flamingo. He remembered that it caught his eye because to seemed odd that a house like that would have a pink flamingo mailbox. But sure enough, here it was now. The huge mansion with it's wrap around balcony wth the pink flamingo mailbox. He _knew_ he was heading in the right direction. He felt his heart race. He was getting closer. Glancing at his watch, he saw that it was shortly after two in the morning. 

Picking up speed, he continued walking, passing more and more familiar houses and stores, pausing again, only to pick up another soda. '_Almost there_', he thought. '_Shouldn't be too much longer now_'. On he continued walking until he finally reached the road the Burrow was on. Smiling a real smile for the first time in seven years, he took up a little jog wanting to cry as he passed all these familiar landmarks he grew up around. The tears that threatened to fall _did_ when he approached the Burrow. It looked the same as it did before. Nothing's changed. He looked at his watch. 3:32am. He wiped the tears from his cheeks and paused, staring up at the house. Was anyone home? He didn't feel right about just walking in now. Should he knock? Everyone was probably asleep. Would they care if he woke them up? Were they all mad at him for leaving like he did? Was his mum even home or was she in the hospital? Was the family at the hospital with her? Well, he wouldn't find out all the answers to these questions just standing there. Taking a deep breath, he walked up to the door and knocked loudly. He waited a few moments, but no one answered. He sighed again and knocked loudly one more time. A few more moments later he heard someone walking towards the door. The door opened and there stood a man Ron didn't know. "Can I help you?" The man asked. Ron could tell he had woken the man up. 

"Umm" Ron said, looking back nervously. "Sorry to bother you, I know it's very early, but umm, do the Weasley's still live here?" He thought he remembered Harry mentioning the Burrow, but if he didn't, surely he would have told him they didn't live there anymore. 

The man nodded. "Yes, they do. What can I do for you?" 

Ron didn't know this man, but he could tell he became very close to the family. He didn't know Ron and seemed hesitant to let Ron have any more information. Ron couldn't blame him really. Some guy he doesn't know shows up on his doorstep at 3:30 in the morning and asks about the family he seems to care about. 

"Well" Ron said. "Could I speak to one of them? I'm an, umm...old friend" 

"Well, only one of them is here right now and she's asleep" The man told him. "Can't it wait until morning?" 

"No!" Ron said, a bit too quickly. "Please. Let me speak with her. If your worried, your more than welcome to stay. I can even wait out here for her" Ron didn't even know who the "her" was. It was either his mother or Ginny. "Please" Ron said again, feeling the tears well up in his eyes. 

Ron thought he saw the man glance at his hair, then nod. "Alright. Come on in. I'll wake her up" 

As Ron walked inside and the man turned to walk upstairs, he kept thinking about the man looking at his hair. Ron wondered if the man suspected he was a Weasley, red hair and all. His hair was probably the only thing that let him come inside. Ron stood by the door, looking around. Everything was just the same. So many memories rushed back to him. 

The man came back down the stairs. "She'll be right down. She's getting dressed" 

Ron just nodded. The man sat down on the sofa. "So" he said. "You never did tell me your name" 

Ron seemed to have forgotten how to talk because he couldn't speak properly. "I'm, umm..." he cleared his throat. But before he could say anything else he heard a shocked cry of "RON?" 

He looked up at the stairs. Ginny. She was standing on the middle step, looking shocked, her face pale. Ron still couldn't seem to speak. It was all like a dream. He hadn't seen his baby sister in seven years, and there she was, all grown up, standing on the stairs, staring at him like he was a ghost. Ron wanted to say something...anything. He couldn't even nod his head, so he just, well, cried. Tears falling freely from his eyes. He just stood by the door, a firm grip on the handle because he felt like his knees were giving away. 

Ginny came all the way down the stairs, still staring at Ron, until they were face to face. It was her who spoke. "Ron?" she said more softly. "It's you" 

He was finally able to nod. He wished he could talk. "Oh my gosh" she said, tears falling from her eyes now, too. 

Finally he was able to speak, and, without knowing why, the first words out of his mouth were. "Please forgive me" He didn't know why he said that or why he wanted her forgiveness. Was it because he left? Or because he killed their father? She didn't know he done that, but he did, and he wasn't sure whether he was asking for forgiveness for that reason or not. 

Ginny shook her head and said, through her tears. "I can't forgive you...because I wasn't mad at you to begin with" She wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled him into a hug. "I never thought I'd see you again. None of us did" 

It was then that Ginny noticed the man was still sitting on the couch, watching them, his eyebrows raised a little. "Oh" she said. "Brent, this is Ron, my brother. I told you about him" She turned to Ron and said, "Ron, this is Brent, my fiance" 

Brent stood up and walked over to them. He said, "Well, Ron, it's nice to finally get to meet you" and held out his hand. Ron took his hand and shook it. "Yeah, nice to meet you too" Ron was glad to finally be able to talk again. 

"Well" Said Brent. "I'll leave you two alone. Let you catch up" With that, he walked back up the stairs. 

Ginny grabbed Ron's hand and pulled him to the sofa. "I'm so glad your okay" She said. "It's great to see you" 

"It's great to see you, too, Gin" He said. 

"I guess you know about Mum" She said, looking down at her hands. 

"Yeah" Ron said. "how is she?" 

"Not good" Ginny said, tears starting to fall again, though this time Ron knew they were falling for a different reason. "She's at St. Mungos. I pretty much spend all say with her and come home at night to sleep for a bit. Fred, George, Percy, Bill and Charlie visit her most of the day, too. Well, Bill and Charlie usually stay with her all night instead of the day so someone will always be wth her. Harry visits a lot too....and Hermione visits....but they don't stay as long as we do. Healer Morgan doesn't know how much longer she has left" 

Ron nodded and fought back tears. He was sick and tired of crying. "Is everyone mad at me for leaving? Mum and our brothers?" 

"Well" Ginny hesitated. "I wasn't mad, Mum wasn't mad. Percy, Bill and Charlie, I don't think they were mad either. But Fred and George were. Because you ran away, left without telling anyone, right after Daddy died" 

"I'm sorry" Ron said. "I...I....had my reasons" 

"And they were?" Ginny asked, prodding him to answer. 

"I can't tell you" Ron said. "But I've regretted leaving ever since. But I couldn't come back. I just....want everyone to forgive me" 

Ginny smiled. "They will. Mummy will forgive you easily. It may take Fred and George some time. But they will, too. Don't worry" She paused, the said. "Are you here to stay?" 

Ron sighed. "Well, I've got a job, which reminds me, I need to find a telephone and call them sometime today, let them know I won't be in tomorrow, so I probably won't stay...but I can promise you that I won't hide anymore. I'll keep in touch. That's a promise" 

Ginny smiled, then said. "Mum always knew you'd be back. Every year since you left, she bought you birthday and Christmas presents. Saving them for when you came home. And she left your room the same" 

Ron leaned back against the sofa and sniffled. "Damn, I don't want to cry anymore" he said. "I made a mess of everything" 

Ginny have him another hug and said. "Listen. Why don't you go up to your room and sleep for a bit? I'll wake you up around noon, fix you some lunch and then we can head out to see Mum. How about that?" 

Ron smiled. "Sounds good" Together they got up and walked upstairs. Ginny giving him one more smile before heading into her room. Ron walked up one more flight to his room. Ginny was right. It was exactly the same. Ron closed the door behind him and flopped on the bed, still wrapped up in his Chudley Cannon bedspread, freshly washed, it looked like. It didn't take long before Ron fell into a deep sleep. 

* * *

**Author's Note**....That was the longest chapter I ever written. You know, I feel for Ron. Walking seven hours does take a lot out of ya. I don't drive and I used to walk a good five hour walk to work three times a week. I was ready to take a nap before I even started work, so I can imagine two extra hours would just worse. It's not fun. 


End file.
